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Each year I read through the Bible, and my reading this morning was in the book of Acts.  Even though I have read it probably hundreds of times over the years, the power of this passage really spoke to me today…

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose. When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because all of us are here!” Then the jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the message of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had believed God with his entire household.” (Acts 16:25–34, HCSB)

There are some scholars who argue that the Philippian jailor was not asking a spiritual question here, but rather he was seeking to learn how he could avoid the consequences (likely execution) of allowing prisoners to escape.  If that is the case, then Paul and Silas used the occasion to build a great gospel bridge into his life and connect him to his need for a different type of salvation.  Personally, I believe the man was so shaken by seeing the power of God that he was asking a spiritual question.  However, either way the end result is the same: salvation came to this man and eventually his household through simple faith.

Think about all of the theology books that have been written. They are needful, and I am very much in favor of making sure we have our theology correct and struggling with the things of God taught in the scriptures. There are some real, profound disagreements in theology – even among evangelical Christians. It’s o.k. to wrestle with those issues, and even debate them in the proper forums.  However, I feel like sometimes we forget that the gospel message is so very simple.  To say the gospel message is simple is not to say it is shallow.  In fact, the gospel is so deep that the greatest theologians cannot exhaust it’s treasure, but yet it is simple enough so that a child can understand and be saved.

The answer to the Philippian jailor’s question was not a systematic theology textbook – it was one verse, Acts 16:31.  We would do well not to forget that. Saving faith is simple faith, and simple faith is saving faith.  How did I become a Christian as an eight year old boy in Henagar, Alabama?  I heard the simple gospel and responded with a simple faith.  Saving faith is simple faith, and simple faith is saving faith.

Today is election day across America.  In addition to thousands of local and statewide raises, one-third of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives will be elected today.  It is certainly an extremely significant day in the life of our nation.

In my opinion, there are Christians who take equally unhealthy positions when it comes to Christians and our involvement in politics.  On one hand, there are those who say that the key to turning America around is to organize Christians to vote for a certain party, making Bible believing Christians just another “voting bloc” of people who help to win elections.  The danger here is tying Christianity to a political party.  The polar opposite of this view comes from those who say that Christians should not be involved at all in politics and totally focus on proclaiming Christ and doing His work. The danger here is keeping our faith within the walls of our churches with no prophetic voice.  In my personal opinion, both of these extremes are equally bad.  Please allow me to share my thoughts on how Christians should approach election day.

(1)  Go vote and vote according to your Biblical, Christian values.  The argument that Christians should leave our faith behind us at the ballot box is absurd.  A Christian worldview informs every choice that we make in life – including our vote. Rest assured, everyone who votes today will do so from their personal beliefs, perspective, and worldview.  As a Bible believing Christian, you have every right to vote in accordance with your beliefs, perspective, and worldview.

(2)  Be reminded to pray for America. Election day is a great reminder to give thanks for our country and pray for its future. America needs a great revival.  Christ is the hope for our country – not a political party. The fact we have the privilege of voting is a testament to the fact that we are privileged to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I do not worship America, but I do unapologetically love America. I am greatly concerned about where we are heading as a nation. The power of God in a mighty revival can heal our land.

(3)  Be kind and show love to those who disagree with you.   Having strong convictions doesn’t have to mean we are obnoxious.  People are watching how we treat others, and if we show nothing but disdain for those who disagree with us it is an extremely poor witness. Everything we post on social media is “out there” for others to see and sometimes it isn’t pretty.  Remember that. For many who are unbelievers, this is a huge barrier to them coming to Christ.  In order to gain a hearing for the gospel, we must be willing to love and engage in conversation with those who disagree with us.  Even though a person may be voting for everything you are against, Christ loves them and died on the cross for them.

(4)  The results of an election do not alter the sovereign plan of God.  He is Lord regardless of how anyone votes. Nothing changes His plan or His power. This world is not in utter chaos; it is headed to an inevitable conclusion.  Do not get too worked up if the election goes your way, and do not despair if it does not.  Jesus is Lord.  Like many of you, I will sit down after my son’s ball game tonight to watch the election returns.  As of this writing, I do not know if I will be pleased with the returns.  However, I will absolutely know that the most important return has happened yet!

““Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1–3, NKJV)

This Sunday we will have the annual Fall Festival at the church I serve.  This is probably the 20th consecutive year or so that I have participated in one of these as a pastor.  They have taken many forms, depending on the church and community context.  If you don’t attend Lakeside where I serve, your church is very likely having some type of similar event. While I have not yet heard this at Lakeside, over the years I have had numerous members at the churches I have served talk with me about how such events are “a waste of money” and “all they are is a bunch of people who will never come back to the church.”  Most of the time, they prefaced their argument with something like, “I don’t think our church should spend money like this during such uncertain times.”   While I am certainly in total agreement with scrutinizing how we use the Lord’s money given through our churches, please allow me to share why I believe a Fall Festival is a good investment for your church (and mine).

It is a good investment because you will get lost people to come.  I have personally met people who do not know Christ at every single Fall Festival I have ever attended.  A Fall Festival type event is something that everyone can feel comfortable bringing their family to.  There is great value in that.  While most churches do not have a “sermon” during the Fall Festival, many churches give out gospel tracts in with all of the “goodies” and attempt to register people so that they can follow up.  Personally, I am praying to have the opportunity to share the gospel with someone this Sunday at our Fall Festival.  It’s much more relaxed to strike up a conversation at the Fall Festival while the kids are in the inflatables or they are munching on popcorn!

It is a good investment because you will minister to people while they are there.  At an event like the Fall Festival, you just have conversations with people that do not happen in the mad dash through the atrium after the morning services.  It can be a family that have you haven’t seen at church in a while. It can be someone you haven’t had a chance to talk with in a few months. The opportunities are endless when so many people gather. Take advantage of them.  This is why I just walk around and talk to people all during the Fall Festival.  The chance to minister grace comes regularly.

It is a good investment because the whole church is working together. At the Fall Festival, you will see your entire church family all together doing the same thing.  There is great value in that. It builds unity and reinforces the church as the body of Christ.

So, go support your church’s Fall Festival.  Sign up to help, and, when your shift is done, go find someone you don’t know and strike up a conversation with them.  You will be glad you did and you will honor Christ.

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (1 John 5:14–15, NKJV)

Today, God answered a prayer for me.  How grateful and thrilled I am to see His hand at work!   Truthfully, the Lord has answered thousands of prayers for me over the years, but it thrills my soul in a fresh way every time it happens.  Among those thousands of answered prayers are those that He answered immediately and some that he required me to wait for years before seeing it happen.  In some cases, the Lord answered my prayer, but He did it in a way that I never dreamed or imagined.   There have been a few prayers that God answered in such a quiet way that it took me a while to realize what was happening.  In a handful of instances, God has answered prayers for me even after I had grown discouraged and stopped asking. There have even been answered prayers that came out of the blue while I was dealing with difficult, unrelated circumstances.  Answered prayers take many forms – all of them great!

Answered prayers are a glorious thing. They work together for our good and God’s glory.  They build our faith.  They stretch our faith.  They convict us and shape us into more of what we need to be.  In God’s time and in God’s way, they come.  They remind us all over again that we are not the masters of our lives, but we are in the hand of the Sovereign One.

Perhaps God answered a prayer for you today. Why don’t you join me in giving Him praise and rejoicing in His goodness & faithfulness?  If no answer to your prayer came today, don’t give up.  Keep praying.  God can do more in a moment than you can do in a lifetime.  You just never know when that moment will come and it will be glorious.

On Monday, October 14, 2013 I walked into the offices of Lakeside Baptist Church for my first official day as Senior Pastor.  It’s been a good first year together as pastor & people.  It’s truly a blessing and honor to serve as pastor at Lakeside.  Rather than focusing on me, I would just like to take a few moments to share some of the things I appreciate most about Lakeside.  These are things that I have learned during my first year as pastor.

Lakeside loves Christ and exalts Him.  Lakeside is a Jesus church. Our faith is in Him, and we worship Him alone. Jesus is really what unites our church because we are all different ages and live in different neighborhoods.  For all of our staff, programs, buildings, and budgets, the only things we really have to offer at Lakeside is Jesus.  Every Sunday, I am blessed to preach after excellent, Christ exalting music from a choir & orchestra who love Him.

Lakeside is a  faith family. One of my first days in the office at Lakeside, I received a very kind letter from my predecessor, Dr. Breck Ladd.  In that letter, Breck talked about how Lakeside was such a family.  On more than one occasion, I have had staff members who have served in multiple churches tell me, “Pastor, there is more of a family atmosphere here than any other church I have served.”  During our first year here, my family and I have come to understand just how much this is true.  Lakeside is far from a perfect church, but we are a family.

Lakeside reaches out. Even though Lakeside is a faith family in a very real way, our church doesn’t just care about those who are already part of the family.  To be honest, even though I have been here a year, I continue to find out ways that members of our church are engaged in outreach all over our city. We haven’t had a big campaign to get people to reach out.  All of this happens from the hearts of our people with little and no promotion or recognition. From the UAB Medical Apartments downtown, to Rocky Ridge Elementary School next door to the church, to a local jail, to the bus station, and many other places, Lakeside lives on mission.

Lakeside has all ages of people faithful & engaged.   Like many churches, Lakeside has a large number of faithful senior adults. I view that as a great thing!  Their faithfulness gives Lakeside a great stability & wisdom.  However, we have people of all ages who are involved in all levels of leadership at Lakeside. We started a new Sunday school class for couples in their late 20’s/early 30’s and they have grown substantially in just a few months. We have faithful deacons in their 30’s & 40’s as well as in their 70’s.  One of our best Sunday school teachers is a college student.  All ages are represented on the platform on Sunday mornings as we involve children and youth on our praise teams along with the adults.  Lakeside is truly a multi-generational church.  It’s one of our strengths.

Lakeside can have a bright future.  Last month, Lakeside was 57 years old. That’s right, the church was started as a mission of Shades Mountain Baptist Church in 1957. God has blessed in so very many ways and the church has seen many great things happen. After serving in this area for a year, I am more convinced than ever before that the next 57 years at Lakeside can be just as exciting.

Lakeside is willing to change in order to embrace it’s future. Change is hard in every church.  In big ways and small ways, I have seen Lakeside adjust and be open to change.  In recent months, I have shared with many different groups at Lakeside about future directions I believe our church needs to take. The response has been nothing but positive excitement.  Just recently, our largest adult Sunday school class moved out of the room they had occupied for over twenty years – in order to make way for children’s ministry in that space.  Not a single complaint has come to the pastor’s office about this move.

You might say these are just the “Top 5” things I appreciate.  I could have listed 25 just as easily, but I won’t for space purposes!  The bottom line is that I am so grateful that God called me and my family to serve at Lakeside.  I love my church.

Today is a big day in our state.  Why do I say that?  Because college students throughout our state (and others) have committed to share the gospel today.  That’s BIG.  Some college students have been praying for 24 days leading up to this effort.  You can learn more here engage24.org and please join me today in doing two things:  (1)  Pray for this effort  (2)  Share the gospel with someone today.  As we look to this day to engage people with the gospel of Christ, please let me share a few important notes about sharing the gospel…

(1)   Sharing the gospel is sharing Christ and His work on the cross.  Certainly, it is good and important to ask someone if they go to church and to invite someone to church.  However, inviting someone to church is not sharing the gospel.  We haven’t shared the gospel unless we share Christ.  The Apostle Paul spelled out what constitutes the gospel…

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:1–4, NKJV)

(2) Scripture gives us the content of the gospel, not the outline or the method.  Over the years, I have been part of evangelism training that took many forms.  I have shared the gospel using “The ABC’s of Salvation” and I have shared the gospel using “The Roman Road” verses.  I have shared the gospel using the outline from Evangelism Explosion and I have shared the gospel using the FAITH outline.  I have given out gospel tracts and walked people through a gospel tract.  I have given out marked Bibles and showed people the gospel using highlighted verses.  Which method of sharing the gospel is best?  The one you will do.

(3)  People are open to hearing.  Occasionally you will meet a person who is closed and hostile to the gospel, but the overwhelming majority of people will listen if you approach them conversationally and with humility.  It’s true that people “don’t like to be preached to” but they are very open to being shared with.

(4)  Don’t be afraid to share with someone from another religion. Practically all religions believe in some type of “heaven” although they may use a different term.  Ask the person to share how their faith believes a person can get to heaven.  Then ask if you could share how your faith says a person can get to heaven.  Personally, I have had Hindus, Muslims, and Jews who allowed me to share the gospel with them using this approach.

(5)  Be humble, but be bold!  Boldness doesn’t mean we stand on a street corner and shout at people.  Boldness can mean a teenager speaking of Christ in the lunchroom at school.  Boldness can be a conversation with a co-worker on the way to a meeting.  Boldness can be engaging the waitress at your favorite restaurant.  It takes some courage to share the gospel in today’s world, but it is the most important thing we can do.

So, join me in praying and sharing today along with these college students.  May Christ be exalted and shared today!